IN your report headlined ‘Department warns
An Bord Pleanála of risks from harbour incinerators’
(February 25), you quote the developer Indaver as saying “the
incinerators are ‘must-have’ for this country if we want
to avoid hefty EU levies for sending too much waste to landfill.”

EU Environment Minister Stavros Dimas, asked
to comment on a similar statement by John Ahern of Indaver, on RTÉ
radio, said last October: “The (EU) commission cannot impose
fines on member states — such fines can only be imposed by the
European Court of Justice as a result of an infringement case.”
European legislation, including the recently revised waste framework
directive, does not prescribe any quotas for waste incineration, nor
does it oblige member states to build waste incinerators if they do
not wish to.

Member states are obliged to meet the requirements
of proper waste management enshrined in EU legislation. They can meet
these requirements without constructing incinerators.

In particular, directive 2006/12/EC requires
member states to take the necessary measures to ensure waste is recovered
or disposed of without endangering human health and without using
processes or methods which could harm the environment.

The conclusion that EU waste legislation obliges,
or will oblige, member states to build incinerators is, however, incorrect
and appears to be a misinterpretation of the obligations properly
to manage Irish waste.